Kendall Haven

Story Consultant / Author / Master Storyteller

Stanford University's DISTIINGUISHED
VISITING SCHOLAR
For topical expertise in story science, neural story research,
and storytelling through Stanford’s MediaX program dedicated to “harnessing the drive of industry with the genius of Stanford to change the world.”

Recruted by theDEPARTMENT OF STATE'S
U.S. SPEAKERS PROGRAM as an expert on Storytelling and Neural Influence Messaging, beginning 2018.

The step-by-step user’s guide to the neural and cognitive science that controls story engagement and influence. 2014

The first-ever scientific proof that "story structure" is an information delivery system powerhouse, evolutionarily hardwired into human brains.2>

APPLYING THE SCIENCE OF STORY TO THE ART OF COMMUNICATION™

Kendall Haven’s research, consulting work, and two seminal books have revolutionized our understanding of stories—of the science of story, of the neurology of story, and of the relationship between the human brain and story.

STORY PROOF (the evidence—2009) and STORY SMART (the experiments and application—2014) are essential resources for every person—in any field— who needs to persuade, inspire, influence, inform, or teach!

“The purpose of every communication is to exert influence (to persuade, to inspire, to change attitudes, beliefs, knowledge, and behavior). We can now measure that impact by looking directly at the human brain of the Target Audience.”

Story consultant Kendall Haven is an internationally recognized expert on the structure and use of story. As a narrative influence architect, Haven guides companies, organizations, and agencies to discover the power and impact possible in their internal and external communications.

Haven’s research discoveries make corporate narrative and influence control possible. These include: the Eight Essential Elements that form the foundation of successful stories, the human Neural Story Net, the Make Sense Mandate, the importance of Motive Matching, key Influence Triggers, and the first and only explicit and quantitative Story Influence Model that explains how to use story elements to extend and exert persuasive influence.

Haven’s acclaimed book, STORY PROOF: The Science Behind the Startling Power of Story presents the first-ever proof that “story structure” is an information delivery system powerhouse, evolutionarily hardwired into human brains. His follow-on, STORY SMART: Using the Science of Story to persuade, Inspire, Influence and Teach, (2014) lays out the latest neural and cognitive research on story engagement, story power, story influence, and the process for merging your themes and messages into effective, powerful story architecture.

OUR STORIED BRAINS "Your brain has been evolutionarily hardwired to think, to understand, to make sense, and to remember in specific story terms and elements."

For 150,000 years, humans have relied on story structure to communicate and to archive (in human memory) key history, knowledge, facts, beliefs, concepts, and attitudes. Evidence Haven gathered from 16 fields of scientific research (from neural and evolutionary biology, to developmental psychology, to knowledge and information management theory, and, of course, to storytelling and writing) has shown that this historical reliance on story has evolutionarily rewired human brains so that we are born hardwired to automatically think, understand, make sense, and remember through stories. specific story structure is literally woven into your DNA!

Haven’s work in the emerging field of neural story science has created a set of powerful, practical, and tested tools that provide the key to effective engagement, empathy, influence and communication. His workshops and consulting sessions arm leaders with the knowledge and ability to successfully master the art of consistently effective communication.

STORY EXPERT“The first storyteller to merge the power of story and neural science with the wisdom of decades of story performance.”

A senior research scientist turned award-winning author, speaker, master storyteller, and nationally recognized subject expert on the structure and use of story, Haven has authored 34 books and has performed for world-wide audiences of over 6 million. The first researcher to ever conduct controlled, in-lab EEG experimental tests of story structures, Haven now assists agencies, organizations, companies, and schools to master the use and power of story (and of the specific elements that build the structure of effective stories) as they discover, form, and craft stories that have allure and impact, and that stick with listeners for years.

CLIENTS If you don’t provide the essential story elements of YOUR story for your target audience, they will invent them on their own—and they’ll always get it wrong.

Every organization has stories they need to tell—stories about important concepts, causes, groups of people, ideas, brands, or about the organization, itself. These stories can be for internal organizational purposes or for external (outreach) use. Haven has uncovered the scientific proof that illuminates both the power of, and the structure of, effective stories and has developed a unique process that guides client organizations to define, discover, and craft their vital messages into effective story structures that will improve the success of their communications and widen and deepen their impact.

Unfortunately many companies, agencies, and organizations never develop the narratives that successfully tell those key stories. Studies have shown that as many as 30% of non-profit messaging is actually counter productive. As basic as story and storytelling are to human brains, it turns out not to be so easy to do when it’s your story. Haven works with each organization to leverage their existing strengths and story material and amplify and project those core messages by effectively merging them with the elements of story architecture.